New York state Senate unanimously passes bill to ban shark fin trade

Patrick Kwan, of The Humane Society of the United States, is confident the Assembly will also pass the bill. Critics say the killing of sharks harms other sea life.

(Mark Bonifacio/New York Daily News)

The New York state Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to outlaw the shark fin trade.

The bill now heads to the Assembly, which passed the same measure last year, only to have it die in the Senate without a vote.

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"We are 100% confident the Assembly will pass this," Patrick Kwan, director of grassroots organizing for The Humane Society of the United States, told the Daily News.

If the bill is again approved by the Assembly, where it enjoys sponsorship from 43 of the body's 150 members, it will head to Gov. Cuomo's desk.

Last year, the Assembly approved a ban on the shark fin trade, but the measure died in the Senate. If the Assembly approves it this year, the bill will head to Gov. Cuomo. (Mark Bonifacio/New York Daily News)

Environmental groups estimate that 73 million sharks are stripped of their fins and dumped back into the ocean, where they sink to the bottom and drown. The fins are then used as the main ingredient in the Chinese delicacy shark fin soup.

"The decimation of the shark population is a serious concern as it has a detrimental trickle-down effect for the entire oceanic food chain," Sen. Mark Grisanti (R- Buffalo), the Senate bill's lead sponsor, said in a press release. "With the shark population in serious peril and other countries and states passing legislation to protect sharks, New York should be a leader in extending protection to these magnificent animals. I am proud to sponsor and pass this bill in the New York State Senate today."

Since California and four other states banned the sale, purchase and distribution of shark fins, New York has become the leading hub of trade for the coveted product in the United States.

A menu outside a Chinatown restaurant with a variety of shark fin soups for a story about the proposal to ban the sale of shark fins. (Mark Bonifacio/New York Daily News)

Hawaii, Illinois, Oregon and Washington state already have similar bans in place, and a measure to outlaw the trade in Maryland awaits the governor's signature.

For Kwan, New York's action is long overdue.

"If sharks were cuter or more cuddly, we would have had these protections a long time ago," Kwan said.